Solutions August 2017 | Page 9

discipline into your life to motivate you
to get your act together.
Finally, the wrath of God can
ultimately take the form of what’s
called “a sin that leads to death”
(1 John 5:16). This is a controversial
passage in Scripture. Some
theologians interpret it as applying to
nonbelievers who end up eternally
separated from God because they
refused to believe in Jesus Christ
as their redeemer. Others interpret
it as referring to believers who
unrepentantly sin in such a grievous
way that God takes their life (as He
did with Ananias and Sapphira). I
believe it is saying both. My focus
here is on the application of this
verse to believers and that God
will at times express His wrath in the
most severe way by removing us
from the planet if we unrepentantly
do dreadful things. This ultimate
expression of the wrath of God is not
meant to freak us out or cause us to
constantly worry that God is going
to take our lives. But it is meant to
convey how much God hates sin
and that when we unrepentantly do
the most grievous sins, He is going to
have the strongest reaction of all.
an overcorrection to the “hell fire
and brimstone” preaching from the
past, far too many sermons now are
about God having nothing but warm-
fuzzy feelings toward us and wanting
us to be happy. The wrath of God
is not to be ignored just because it
is unpleasant to think about. In our
efforts to grow into mature followers of
Christ, we need to allow God’s wrath
to be what it is: an expression of His
love and kindness.
Dr. Chris Thurman is a psychologist in private
practice in Austin, Texas. He earned a Ph.D.
in counseling psychology from the University
of Texas. A bestselling author and popular
speaker, he has conducted hundreds of
seminars for churches and corporations
around the country.
© 2017 Dr. Chris Thurman. The Lies We Believe About
God: Knowing God for Who He Really Is is published
by David C Cook. All rights reserved.
God’s Wrath Is Not
to Be Interfered With
The wrath of God toward sin is not
something most of us want to think
about, and it certainly isn’t a common
sermon topic these days. Almost as
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